Dallas at Golden State (October 29)
It was another poor offensive start by Dallas, but the injury depleted
Warriors had a worse offensive start. After the teams traded misses, Mike
Dunleavy had a layup 40 seconds in and it would be almost 4 minutes before
Golden State scored again as they missed 8 shots and 3 free throws. Dallas
was only slightly better during that time as they shot 3-8 FG and hit 2 free
throws to go up 8-2 with 7:50 remaining. After a flurry of layups over the
next 2 minutes, Dallas went on a 7-2 "run" that took 4 minutes as the
shooting struggles continued for both teams and Dallas led 20-10 with 1:50
left. Dallas led 22-14 after 1. Dallas shot just 30% FG including 0-7
3-pointers and Golden State shot 28% FG in the quarter. Dallas scored the
first 8 points of the 2nd quarter to take their largest lead at 30-16 with
9:15 to go. It then became the Avery Johnson show as AJ scored 5 of the
next 7 points and then assisted on a 3-pointer as Golden State went on a
15-2 run to pull within 31-32 with 6:20 remaining. With 4:20 left, Dirk
Nowitzki got wacked hard by Brian Cardinal without a call and a frustrated
Dirk then raked Cardinal hard as he drove to the hoop and Nowitzki was
called for the flagrant foul and then picked up a technical complaining
about the non-call. The technical free throw was missed, but Cardinal hit
his 2 free throws and then hit a jumper to give Golden State their first
lead of the game at 41-39 with 4 minutes to go. Dallas scored the next 6
points and was able to hang on to a small lead the rest of the quarter.
Calbert Cheaney drove for 2 as the quarter ended and Dallas led 49-47 at the
half. The uglyness continued in the 3rd quarter as just 4 points (2 from
each team) were scored over the first 2:50 of the quarter. Cheaney scored
the next 6 points and Erick Dampier connected on 2 layups to give Golden
State their largest lead at 59-51 with 6 minutes left. Dallas responded
with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 61-61 with 2:15 remaining. Dunleavy hit
a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left and Steve Nash swished a quick 3 with 30
seconds to go - Dallas' first made 3-pointer of the game. A jumper by
Nowitzki with a handful of seconds left gave Dallas a 66-64 lead after 3.
Dallas continued to hold a small lead into the 4th quarter. Rookie Mickael
Pietrus suffered a sprained left ankle with 7:30 left and did not return.
Antoine Walker found Nowitzki on consecutive Mavs plays for the easy bucket
and then Walker got his own layup on a pass from Nash to give Dallas a 79-72
lead with 6:15 to go. 4 straight points by Nowitzki gave Dallas their
largest lead of the quarter at 84-76 with 3:40 remaining. The Warriors
didn't give up as they used a 8-2 mini-run that included 2 3-pointers to
pull within 84-88 with 2 minutes left. Nowitzki hit a jumper, Golden State
missed on 2 attempts (with an AJ steal in the middle), and Michael Finley
hit Dallas' 2nd 3-pointer of the game to seal the win. Dallas won 95-87.
We have our loss streak vs the Lakers and the Warriors have their loss
streak against the Mavs. Dallas has now won 18 straight times vs Golden
State - Golden State last defeated Dallas in 1999. It wasn't a pretty game
and there were lots of uglyness as well as some flashes of good things
(where as the Lakers game was almost totally devoid of good things). I
continue to be disappointed in Dallas' offensive rebounding effort. It
improved some in the 2nd half, but in the 1st half, once the ball went up,
there were no blue jerseys to be seen trying to crash the board. Dallas
still looks out of sync on offense and is ineffective on defense.
Fortunately, the same applies to the Warriors and Dallas has better talent.
Dallas managed to up their shooting to 43.6% (34-78) FG for the game while
Golden State never broke 40% FG and finished at 39.1% (36-92) FG. Both
teams struggled behind the arc as Dallas shot 2-14 3-pointers and Golden
State shot 5-21 3-pointers. Dallas went to the line more and shot 25-29 FT
and Golden State shot 10-17 FT. Golden State had 1 more rebound and 4 more
offensive boards (51-50 and 15-11). Dirk Nowitzki found his rhythm in the
2nd half and 11 of his 29 points came in the 4th quarter. He shot 11-18 FG
and 7-7 FT and had 15 rebounds (2 offensive), 3 steals, 4 blocks, and 3
turnovers in 45 minutes. Antoine Walker, like everyone, started off
shooting poorly but improved as the game went on and stopped jacking up 3s.
His 2 assists to Nowitzki were really pretty. He had 20 points on 10-20 FG,
14 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 turnovers. Though he didn't shoot that well,
Steve Nash looked tons better than he did in the Lakers game. He had 16
points on 3-9 FG, 1-4 3-pointers, and 9-10 FT, 5 rebounds (went after them),
and 11 assists. Michael Finley continues to struggle (I gave a cheer when
his 3-pointer at the end went in), but only attempted 8 shots. He had a
poor outing with 7 points on 3-8 FG and 4 turnovers, but was aggressive with
the defensive rebounds (including taking 1 from Nowitzki) and had 10 boards
(he had just 10 double-digit rebounding games (including 1 in the playoffs)
last season). Tony Delk got the starting nod for this game and I didn't
think he did a good job at all. He shot 1-5 FG and was ineffective
defensively, but only played 12 minutes. Eduardo Najera didn't have much in
the way of stats (2 points, 1-4 FG, 1 rebounds, 2 steals), but Dallas' play
improved when he was inserted in the game in the 2nd half. Antawn Jamison
struggled mightily in playing against his former team and, thus, Don Nelson
sat him the entire 2nd half. He had just 5 points including 1-6 FG (mostly
inside shots) and 2 rebounds in 16 minutes. Travis Best was perfect with 6
points on 1-1 FG and 4-4 FT, but like Delk was ineffective defensively
(little Avery Johnson ate the 2 alive). Rookie Josh Howard looked nice in
limit minutes and tweaked something before he was pulled. He had 6 points
in 12 minutes. Danny Fortson and Shawn Bradley saw a combined 4 minutes on
the court. For Golden State, no Warrior shot 50% or better. Clifford
Robinson was the high man with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Erick Dampier was
a monster on the boards with 17 rebounds including 8 offensive (and remains
one of the worst offenders of 3 seconds in the league - none were called in
this game). He also had 14 points and 3 blocks. Mike Dunleavy had an up
and down game. He had 14 points and 4 assists, but shot just 6-18 FG and
2-10 3-pointers before fouling out in the final seconds. Calbert Cheaney
was the 3rd Warrior to have a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Avery Johnson provided the spark that got Golden State back in the game in
the 2nd quarter. He had 12 points on a poor 4-11 FG (and I think all 4
were layups) and 4-4 FT and 6 assists. Twice the Mavs tried posting him up
on a switch and both times (against Nowitzki and Finley) AJ managed to poke
his hand in and get the steal. The Warriors were very shorthanded as only 8
players played because Nick Van Exel, Popeye Jones, and Adonal Foyle did not
play due to injury and Jason Richardson did not play due to league
suspension. But a win is a win is a win and Dallas needed this one as they
are likely going to continue to struggle some with the new team.
Also of note:
Mark Cuban got enough negative comments about the ugly 3rd jersey worn in
the Lakers game (they wore the blue unis in the GS game) that he said that
the 3rd jerseys have made their last appearance [Yeah!].
Quotes
Don Nelson: "The fact is we struggled the whole game again, until we
made shots down the stretch and executed. It was a situation where we
had to win this game. We needed to start playing a little bit better.
It was an opportunity for us and it was a game where you just couldn't
leave this arena and not come away with a win. That's the way we felt
about it."
Nelson: "I thought it was a valiant effort by the Warriors tonight. As
you saw, we had to keep our regulars in the entire 2nd half. We had to
go to our end-of-the-game offense that we know how to run."
Nelson on Dampier: "We knew they had the size on us there, but they
continued to go to him and kind of got out of their normal offense. We
were able to double-team him some and get a couple of turnovers."
Nelson on Najera: "We were basically centerless and we decided to use
Eddie a lot in the 2nd quarter. He got a couple of charging calls and
really made a difference in the game."
Nelson on Walker: "He's just a really great competitor and he's picked
things up quickly. We want him in the game all the time."
Antoine Walker: "This was one of those gut out wins that we're going to
need a lot of until we start clicking as a unit. It may not be pretty,
but ugly wins count the same."
Walker: "Offensively, everything is going to be fine. With the way we
pass the ball on this team, it's going to be a ton of shots, a ton of
opportunities to score. All I've got to do is constantly work on my
game and get better and get ready to take care of those opportunities
when they come."
Antawn Jamison: "The most important thing is we came in, and we still
didn't play like the way we're capable of playing, but the guys found a
way to get the job done and get the victory tonight."
Eduardo Najera: "I'm just like any other player. I'd like to get more
shots. But the truth of the matter is that we have so much talent
that's not going to happen. In order for me to get on the floor, I have
to concentrate on defense and rebounding."
Eric Musselman: "Dallas is a great basketball team. They're a team that
was put together to try to play for a championship, and we're extremely
short-handed. But our guys' effort was phenomenal - as good as any game
last year."
Musselman: "We obviously are not a great shooting team, we struggled to
score points. Our starters did not make a single free throw [0-7]."
Musselman: "We just could not hit shots, they just would not go in.
They just would not drop. We played one of the best teams in the league
down to the wire."
Musselman: "I wish the results were different - I'm dying inside."
Mike Dunleavy: "We played with one of the best teams in the league right
to the wire. You can't say we've thrown in the towel."
Dunleavy: "Everyone says we're rebuilding this year, but I think it's
pretty obvious that we're not. We played one of the best teams right to
the wire."
Dunleavy: "We did a pretty good job defensively. We held down one of
the best offenses in the league. But it seemed like we just couldn't
make shots - whether it be the beginning or the end."
Clifford Robinson: "It was the season opener and you have to expect the
jitters a little bit. The preseason is over and these games count. We
got off to a slow start, but we did a really good job of staying in the
game."
Avery Johnson: "We don't want any moral victories. But we have a lot of
things that we can take out of this game that are positive."
Dallas Mavericks 95, Golden State Warriors 87 at Golden State (October 29)
1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT%
Dallas 22 27 17 29 - 95 .500 .143 .436 .862
Golden State 14 33 17 23 - 87 .437 .238 .391 .588
Halftime: Dallas 49-47
3rd Q: Dallas 66-64
Technicals: Eric Musselman 2:35 1st, Dirk Nowitzki 4:22 2nd
Flagrants: Dirk Nowitzki 4:22 2nd
Refs: Joe Forte, Ken Mauer, Rodney Mott
Attendance: 15,816 (cap 19,596)
Did not play due to injury: Popeye Jones (left knee injury), Nick Van Exel
(left knee surgery), Adonal Foyle (left knee injury), Jason Richardson
(suspended)
Dallas Mavericks REB
Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK
Antoine Walker 42 10-20 0-4 0-1 20 5-14 4 3 2 1 0
Michael Finley 42 3-8 1-3 0-0 7 1-10 1 4 4 2 0
Dirk Nowitzki 45 11-18 0-1 7-7 29 2-15 1 3 3 3 4
Tony Delk 12 1-5 0-1 2-2 4 0-1 0 1 2 1 0
Steve Nash 38 3-9 1-4 9-10 16 0-5 11 2 0 0 0
Antawn Jamison 16 1-6 0-0 3-5 5 2-2 0 1 1 0 0
Josh Howard 12 3-7 0-1 0-0 6 1-1 1 0 1 0 0
Travis Best 10 1-1 0-0 4-4 6 0-1 1 0 2 0 0
Danny Fortson 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0
Shawn Bradley 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Eduardo Najera 19 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 0 0 1 2 1
Totals 48 34-78 2-14 25-29 95 11-50 19 14 17 9 5
Golden State Warriors REB
Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK
Clifford Robinson 46 8-20 2-6 0-1 18 4-12 3 1 2 0 0
Mike Dunleavy 38 6-18 2-10 0-1 14 0-2 4 2 6 0 0
Erick Dampier 35 7-15 0-0 0-4 14 8-17 1 3 3 0 3
Calbert Cheaney 45 7-16 0-2 0-1 14 2-10 1 2 3 2 0
Speedy Claxton 21 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 2 3 3 1 0
Avery Johnson 28 4-11 0-0 4-4 12 0-2 6 1 3 2 0
Brian Cardinal 13 2-5 0-1 4-4 8 0-1 0 1 4 0 0
Mickael Pietrus 14 1-4 1-2 2-2 5 1-6 2 1 3 1 0
Totals 48 36-92 5-21 10-17 87 15-51 19 15 27 6 3
patricia